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Midas
Part of WS-117
Midas W37 Sensor
Midas W37 Sensor
American military early warning satellite. Part of a then-secret USAF program known as WS-117L, the MIDAS (Missile Defense Alarm System) program began in November 1958. Early Warning satellite built by Lockheed (prime), Aerojet-General (payload) for USAF, USA. Launched 1962 - 1963.

AKA: Missile Defense Alarm System. Status: Operational 1960. First Launch: 1960-02-26. Last Launch: 1966-10-05. Number: 18 . Gross mass: 1,840 kg (4,050 lb).

It was terminated in the summer of 1966 after less than a dozen MIDAS satellites were put into orbit. MIDAS was intended to provide timely warning of an attack upon the United States by detecting and tracking the hot exhaust gases of enemy missiles at launch and during boost phase. But the sensor and processing technology of the time, and the constellation architecture, were not up to the task.

In the late 1950s, the advent of a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile threat convinced the U.S. Air Force of the urgent need for a constellation of satellites that would provide timely warning of an imminent missile attack. MIDAS was at best a qualified success -- early problems included mistaking sunlight reflected from clouds as an enemy missile launch. The earliest satellites carried the Aerojet W-17, the first sensor to be deployed on operational MIDAS satellites. A later and more capable version, the Aerojet W-37 infrared early warning sensor, became the first space-based sensor to successfully detect a missile launched from Earth. This was the first sensor to be deployed on operational MIDAS satellites.

In the mid-1960s, MIDAS was supplanted by the USAF's Program 461 and subsequently by that service's highly successful deep space Defense Support Program early warning satellite system.


More at: Midas.

Family: Early Warning, Medium earth orbit, Military early warning sat, Surveillance. Country: USA. Engines: Bell 8081. Launch Vehicles: Atlas, Thor, Delta, Atlas Agena A, Thor Agena B, Atlas Agena B, Atlas SLV-3 Agena D. Launch Sites: Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg, Cape Canaveral LC14, Vandenberg SLC1E, Vandenberg SLC3E. Agency: USAF. Bibliography: 126, 171, 172, 2, 278, 279, 6, 6708, 12834, 12835, 12836.
Photo Gallery

Discoverer 19Discoverer 19
Credit: Manufacturer Image


Midas 1Midas 1
Credit: Manufacturer Image


Midas 6Midas 6
Credit: Manufacturer Image


Midas 3Midas 3
Credit: Manufacturer Image


Midas 11Midas 11
Credit: Manufacturer Image



1957 Mar - .
1959 September 18 - .
1959 September 23 - . LV Family: Polaris, Titan, Atlas, Thor, Jupiter, .
1959 October 21 - .
1959 November 17 - .
1960 February 26 - . 17:25 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC14. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena A. FAILURE: Second stage failed to separate.. Failed Stage: U.
1960 May 24 - . 17:36 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC14. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena A.
1960 December 20 - . 20:32 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC1E. LV Family: Thor. Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B.
1961 February 18 - . 22:58 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC1E. LV Family: Thor. Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena B.
1961 July 12 - . 15:11 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B.
1961 October 21 - . 13:53 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B.
1962 April 9 - . 15:04 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B.
1962 September 8 - . LV Family: Titan.
1962 December 17 - . 20:36 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B. FAILURE: Failure. Failed Stage: U.
1963 May 9 - . 20:06 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B.
1963 June 12 - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B. FAILURE: Failure. Failed Stage: U.
1963 July 19 - . 03:51 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Agena B.
1966 June 9 - . 20:10 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3 Agena D.
1966 August 19 - . 19:26 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3 Agena D.
1966 October 5 - . 22:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: Vandenberg SLC3E. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3 Agena D.

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